Reference > Brewer’s Dictionary > Oakum.

 Oaks Famous in Story.Oan’nes. 
CONTENTS · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD
E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
 
Oakum.
 
Untwisted rope; used for caulking the seams (i.e. spaces between the planks) of a ship. It is forced in by chisel and mallet.   1
   To pick oakum. To make oakum by untwisting old ropes. A common employment in prisons and workhouses.   2
 


 Oaks Famous in Story.Oan’nes. 

 
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